1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an arrangement for installing a communication unit in an apparatus suitable for apparatuses with a security housing that internally contains a secure region and a non-secure region, with the communication unit located in the non-secure region. The communication may be an analog or digital modem, an ISDN unit, wireless LAN unit, UMTS unit, Bluetooth unit or another pluggable communication unit. The apparatus can be a billing franking or mail processing apparatuses or any type of data processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An analog modem is conventionally used in franking machines with security modules. The modem is located either directly on the motherboard or at another location inside the apparatus.
In the franking machine of the type mymail® commercially available from Francotyp-Postalia Beteiligungs AG, both the modem and the security module can be plugged in only with the housing shell opened, and cannot be installed from the outside and connected with the motherboard of the franking machine. When the franking machine is to be opened for modem exchange or repair purposes, breakaway screws and/or plastic parts of the security housing must be destroyed. Moreover, in franking machines and other mail processing apparatuses with a security housing, potted seals can be used as further access protection for microprocessor control and for the energizing leads of the print head. After a repair that requires an opening of the security housing, the breakaway screws of the security housing, the seals and other destroyed plastic parts must be replaced by a service technician.
Other components, such as fans in apparatus housings, are known that can be covered with a door that may be opened by customers. The cover or the door thereby remains undestroyed.
The thermotransfer franking machine T1000 commercially available from Francotyp-Postalia Beteiligungs AG has a thermotransfer print head disposed in the housing for printing a franking imprint and a bay situated at the exterior of the housing for acceptance of an exchangeable ink ribbon cartridge. The bay borders a non-secure region. While the access to the secure region of the printing device is prevented by a security housing, a door leading to the bay can be opened at any time (U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,228).
The franking machine of the type mymail® has an externally accessible battery compartment so that the current supply of the security module can be maintained over a longer time span by an additional external battery (German Utility Model 200 20 635).
An arrangement of a security module in a franking machine is known from the German Utility Model 20211108, wherein the security module and the franking machine are manufactured separately from one another and are combined only at the conclusion of in the franking machine assembly. The security module is disposed in the non-secure region of the franking machine and is protected from unauthorized access by means of a non-destructive, detachable flap. The mounting incurs only slight production costs.
There is a continuous growth of the transfer rate requirements for modems used in franking machines. A modem is special data transfer device for telephone networks. Conventionally, only a predetermined modem type coupled to a specific interface of the apparatus is used. In the case of repair or when changes are necessary, for example to increase the data transfer rate, conventionally an intrusion into the franking machine is required in order to access the motherboard with the modem situated inside the security housing. Some franking machine variants are preconfigured at the manufacturer so as to be capable of also being connected with a data center in the future via a predetermined different modem type. A method and arrangement for automatic modem type detection and adaptation is known from European Application 773 517. An external modem that matches the franking machine and the country-specific telephone system can be ordered as an auxiliary part through the franking machine manufacturer. The internal modem then is deactivated but in most cases is not de-installed, but rather remains in situ. An external modem is merely connected and used instead. Under the circumstances, however, it is more susceptible to failure and repair due to environment influences in comparison with an internal modem, which is protected by the fact that it is integrated in the apparatus. In addition to lower acquisition costs, this protects the functionality of the modem without any further measures.
In the future communication units with still higher data transfer rates will be available that will allow larger data quantities to be transmitted cost-effectively. Retrofitting an apparatus with an arbitrary external communication unit would require a country-specific adaptation and initialization at the customer. Moreover, customers cannot be required to manually effect all the settings that would be necessary in connection with a retrofitting of a franking machine with an arbitrary external communication unit after it has been coupled with the existing interface.
Moreover, when the need or desire of such a retrofit occurs, it would not be acceptable to the customer if communication unit cannot simply be exchanged, but rather a technician service must be called because the housing cannot be non-destructively opened.